In Canada alcohol consumption is very much apart of our culture.

A
new study by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH),
found Canadians drink more than 50% above the global average. This
is particularly alarming as alcohol is now the third leading cause of the
global burden of disease and injury. In 2010, alcohol was responsible
for 5.5 percent of the overall burden, coming in third after high blood
pressure and smoking. These types of injuries and diseases not only
include outcomes like liver cirrhosis and traffic accidents, but other
related diseases like certain types of cancers. In Canada one particular
group sticks out. The age bracket of 15 to 29 year olds are Canadas
most unhealthy drinkers, defined by the report as drinking above
certain limits. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 320,
000 young people of this age group die from alcohol related causes
each year.
According to Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), one of the leading
causes of death among teenagers continues to be road crashes. The
evidence shows that young drivers have the highest rates of traffic
death and injury per capita among all age groups and the highest
death rate per kilometer driven among all drivers under 75 years of
age. More 19 year olds die or are seriously injured than any other age
group. Alcohol and/or drugs are a factor in 55% of crashes resulting in
fatalities for youth between 16 and 25 year olds. While 16-25 year olds
constitute 13.7% of the population in 2009, but made up almost 31.1%
of the alcohol related traffic deaths.
Every single injury and death caused by drunk driving is totally
preventable. Although the proportion of crashes that are alcoholrelated has dropped dramatically in recent decades, there are still far
too many such preventable accidents. Unfortunately, in spite of great
progress, alcohol-impaired driving remains a serious national problem
that tragically affects many victims annually.
It's easy to forget that dry statistics represent real people and real
lives.